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Olympic triathlon start lists finalised as start numbers drawn

Created On: 14 July 2012

With the London 2012 Opening Ceremony just under two weeks away,
the International Triathlon Union (ITU) today announced the
official triathlon start lists for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In Hungary, ahead of this weekend's Tiszaujvaros ITU Triathlon World
Cup, the 39 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were randomly
drawn, and then start numbers were assigned to their respective
athletes in alphabetical order. While the start numbers indicate
position in the transition area, they do not relate to athletes'
position on the start pontoon.

Women

Chile was the first NOC drawn, meaning Barbara Riveros Diaz will
wear No. 1 for the women. The reigning ITU Sprint Triathlon World
Champion and 2011 Pan Am Games silver medallist is viewed as a
serious podium threat and is seeking to be the first South American
triathlete to medal at the Olympics. Great Britain was the seventh
NOC drawn, meaning numbers 8, 9 and 10 are respectively assigned to
the home team of Lucy Hall, Vicky Holland and reigning ITU World
Champion Helen Jenkins.

Two other strong teams were drawn immediately after Great
Britain with France and Japan. Australia was the 14th
NOC drawn, giving numbers 25, 26, and 27 to the powerful squad of
Erin Densham, Emma Jackson and Beijing bronze medalist Emma
Moffatt, respectively.

The only woman to have qualified for four Olympic Games -
Germany's Anja Dittmer - will wear No. 22. She booked her spot to
London 2012 with a surprising bronze at last year's test event. The
North American NOCs were drawn last with the United States and
Canada occupying the final spots in the transition area.

In the men's field, Costa Rica's Leonardo Chacon of Costa Rica
will sport No. 1 and occupy the first position in the transition
area. Unlike the women's draw, Canada was the first major team
drawn, third out of the ballot, giving start numbers 3, 4, and 5 to
Kyle Jones, Brent McMahon and double Olympic medallist and 2000
champion Simon Whitfield.

The Russian team, likely to play a huge role in the race with
their strong swim-bikers, was the 18th NOC drawn.
Alexander Bryukhankov, Dmitry Polyanskiy and Ivan Vasiliev will
wear numbers 25, 26, and 27 respectively.

Great Britain was the 21st NOC drawn which means the
heavily favoured Brownlee brothers Alistair and Jonathan have been
assigned numbers 30 and 31 respectively. Spain's 2-time World
Champion Javier Gomez, widely viewed as the Brownlees' most
dangerous threat for gold, will wear No. 51.

Germany's Jan Frodeno will defend his Olympic title wearing No.
46. New Zealand was the last NOC drawn among the men, with 2-time
Olympic medallist Bevan Docherty donning No. 54.

Starting positions on swim pontoon will take place at the
athlete briefings, two days prior to each competition day. Athletes
will select their spots based on the final ITU Olympic
qualification list.

Start numbers indicate not only transition position, but also
have served as a bit of luck. Number 34 on the women's side has
always produced an Olympic medallist. Emma Snowsill won gold in
Beijing in 2008, Susan Williams picked up bronze in Athens in 2004,
and Magali Di Marco also took bronze in Sydney in 2000, all while
wearing No. 34. In London, Nicky Samuels of New Zealand will have
the supposed lucky number.

Conversely, nobody will display unlucky 13 at the Olympics, as
it is purposely excluded in both the men's and women's races, as in
all other ITU races. Therefore, the final start number assigned is
56.

Notes about the triathlon fields for London
2012

- Record 39 NOCs will participate in London (36 in Beijing in
2008)

- 55 women across 30 NOCs

- 55 men from 32 NOCs

- 5 NOC will participate in the triathlon for the first
time in Olympic history: Ecuador, Mauritius, Monaco, Republic of
Korea, and Slovenia

- 5 past Olympic medallists will take part in London 2012: Simon
Whitfield of Canada (gold in Sydney, silver in Beijing), Bevan
Docherty of New Zealand (silver in Athens, bronze in Beijing), Sven
Riederer of Switzerland (bronze in Athens), Jan Frodeno of Germany
(gold in Beijing), and Emma Moffatt of Australia (bronze in
Beijing).